A class action lawsuit over alleged sunroof leaking in certain Volkswagen and Audi vehicles is in settlement proceedings.
On April 25, 2023, a California district court granted preliminary approval of the parties’ proposed class action settlement. The lawsuit, a consolidation of multiple proposed class actions filed between 2019 and 2020, involved alleged defects in certain VW and Audi vehicles’ sunroofs, resulting in leakage and water ingress into the vehicles.
As set forth in the court’s order, the preliminarily certified class to be covered under the settlement, with certain exceptions, is as follows:
All persons and entities who purchased or leased, in the United States or Puerto Rico, (a) any model year 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Volkswagen Atlas vehicle, (b) any model year 2020 and 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport vehicle, (c) any model year 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Volkswagen Golf and Volkswagen Golf GTI vehicle, (d) any model year 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen vehicle, (e) any model year 2017, 2018 and 2019 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack vehicle, (f) any model year 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan vehicle, (g) any model year 2019, 2020 and 2021 Audi Q3 vehicle, (h) any model year 2019, 2020 and 2021 Audi Q8 vehicle, and (i) any model year 2019, 2020 and 2021 Audi e-tron vehicle, that was/were imported and distributed by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. for sale or lease in the United States or Puerto Rico (hereinafter, the “Settlement Class”).
As discussed in the Class Settlement Agreement filed on April 18, 2023, the remedies extended to the class include warranty extensions, reimbursement of certain out-of-pocket repair expenses, and extension of various service actions for sunroofs. The Agreement further indicates the named Plaintiffs/class representatives will seek up to $5,000 each as service awards. Defendant admits no wrongdoing or liability as a result of the settlement.
Now upcoming are proceedings pertaining to issuance of the settlement notice, objections to the settlement, fees, and class representative service awards, exclusion from the settlement class, final settlement approval, and a final fairness hearing—all presently scheduled from August to November 2023.
The case is Sokol Gjonbalaj v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. et al., case number 2:19-cv-07165, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
You can read the preliminary settlement approval below:
